Home Staging for Home Sellers – Take it From a Pro

When selling your home, you want prospective buyers to view it as if it were their home. This can seem insulting or hurtful to some sellers who feel that how THEY have decorated their home is appealing and attractive to everyone.

The process of selling your home is emotionally stressful. A good Real Estate Agent will make this process as smooth and painless as possible. But in this case, we have made our home our own and having to eliminate or obliterate our handiwork is a hard pill to swallow.

The art of staging is to de-personalize your home. Then we make your home enticing in almost a generic sense. The idea is to generate excitement in a prospective buyer who can see how their own things will look in the home.

Staging doesn’t require a big budget. Mostly it requires self-determination. As a Certified Home Staging Professional as well as a Licensed Real Estate agent, I can give some pearls of wisdom to help you get started.

Here are some tips for INSIDE that can help your home stand out from the rest.

1. Declutter. Clutter is a turn off.  Instead of having a buyer admire the details of your home architecture, they will focus their attention on your ‘stuff’. One very detrimental result is that the buyer may perceive that there is not enough storage in the home and so “stuff” is left in the open.

2. Furniture: This goes along the same lines as clutter. Large, oversized furniture can makes rooms look smaller than they are. However, no furniture or small, sparse furniture in a large room makes it appear out of proportion. It’s uncomfortable.

3. Color. Keep it neutral. Many of us love bold colors and spend an agonizingly long time picking out the best shade to go with OUR furniture. Wallpaper prints or borders, unique paint combinations or patterns are all distracting. Not everyone loves a nautical bathroom motif. Again, you want the buyer to feel invited into the room.

4. Purpose the Room: Most of us use our rooms in different ways. Bedrooms are often set up as craft rooms, exercise rooms or play rooms. You may have your dining room set up as a den/office or section off part of the kitchen for a computer area. Buyers need to see rooms that are true to their purpose. They want to see the formal dining room that was advertised. They want to see the 3 bedrooms they expected, not two bedrooms and a sewing room. Use your best china/glasses and set the tables. Formal dining rooms, informal kitchens, even the outside dining areas!

4. Bright and Airy: Proper lighting can set the whole mood. A properly lit room makes everything look better. Dark rooms or dark corners are foreboding. Again, it makes one feel uncomfortable. Be sure all rooms are well lit. During the day, open the drapes roll up the blinds, let the light in! Small ‘mood’ lights can be inexpensively placed in corners to highlight a plant or other attractive feature of the house. You want people to come closer, not walk away because they can’t see through the darkness.

5. Repairs: Keep your home well-maintained. Doors should work properly. No holes in the screens or windows painted shut decades ago. Invest the time and money to fix broken or improperly working fixtures. Buyers will notice every squeaky or sticky door, loose hinge and – worse – an incomplete repair or project. Fix it before you put it on the market!

7. Fresh Scent: Everyone loves a home that smells fresh and clean. Subtle fresheners can help achieve that homey, inviting feeling. Please note that I said SUBTLE. Heavy floral and other smelly candles, sticks, plug-ins and those pyramid things can be cloying and oppressive. That can send the message to a buyer that something awful is being covered up. Worse, it can send a buyer running if they have allergies sensitive to these smells.

8. Clean-clean-clean: Clean thoroughly. Carpets should be cleaned. All windows should sparkle (remember you are keeping the shades and drapes open). A prospective buyer will peek into the cabinets and closets. Keep them clean and in order. It should go without saying that the kitchen and bathrooms must be spotless.

Staging a home is just that: Setting a Stage. Lights…Camera..Action!

I offer my Staging expertise to my clients as a service to help get the home SOLD! You can find me through my website at: www.NormaSellsNJHomes.com

 

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